Always Follow Up with a Customer

One of the keys to leveraging the power of small business entrepreneurship for greater profit is developing relationships with customers. Every interface you have with a lead or a client is an opportunity to generate new trust and fuel sales. Get in the habit of handing out your business card to people you meet on the street, and get comfortable with weaving your entrepreneurial activity into conversations -- whether they be about small business or about the weather.

To this end, remember that every email, phone message, or letter you send to customers offers an interesting and creative template for you to boast the attributes of your small business. You don’t want to harass your customers, but it’s worth pushing your new relationships a bit -- if only to learn the limits of your influence.

In other words, if you end up driving away one or two small business customers due to over zealous follow up, you will at the very least have learned what your limits should be. If, on the other hand, you never reach out excessively to your customers, you will never know what you might be capable of.

Become an expert at reading people’s body language and verbal cues. Go to a sale seminar to brush up your skills. Even “non-intuitive” small business owners can gain a lot from a few day’s education in the science of human influence.

All of that said, since your small business sales skills will be given daily workouts, and since you’re already deeply invested in the logistics and how to’s of your small business, it’s essential to separate your personal life from the life of your small business. Be on the look out for networking opportunities, but develop the timeframes and skills to “clock out” of your job, or else you’ll either become monomaniacal about your small business -- or your work problems might bleed over into your personal relationships.

Finally, the key to creating a trustworthy relationship with clients is to fulfill whatever contracts you specify with them, be they explicit or implicit. If for some reason you are unable to make good on an order timeframe, for instance, explain the situation as soon as possible to your client and promise a discount or free work. Sound action as well as thorough networking can augment your small businesses stature and prepare you for expansion into new markets.

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